Neptune murder trial: Her boyfriend was shot and barely breathing, 911 caller told police

FREEHOLD Neptune police Officer Vincent Zenna and Sgt. Jason Rademacher raced to 1030 Old Corlies Ave., getting there within four minutes of the 911 call at 9:22 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2018, Rademacher told a jury Thursday.

“The caller said that their boyfriend was shot in the stomach and barely breathing,’’ Rademacher testified.

When the officers arrived at the caller’s apartment, they found the victim laying on his back at the top of the staircase leading to his apartment above a barbershop and grocery store, his feet pointing toward the stairs and his head in the apartment, pointing toward the bathroom, Rademacher said. He had an apparent gunshot wound to the abdomen, he said.

“He was unable to talk and he was breathing shallowly,’’ the police sergeant said of the victim, Randolph Goodman. “You could tell he was having difficulty taking a breath.’’

Officers administered oxygen to Goodman before medics arrived minutes later and transported him to the hospital, Rademacher told a jury.

Despite that, Goodman, a 43-year-old father of four, died at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune at 2:25 a.m. the next day.

Now, Marcus Morrisey, 52, and his nephew, Danron Morrisey, 30, both of Asbury Park, are on trial, charged with Goodman’s murder.

They also are charged with armed robbery, felony murder and weapons offenses.

Prosecutors said Goodman was planning to sell some cocaine to Marcus Morrisey and, while he was upstairs in his apartment retrieving it, Marcus Morrisey summoned his nephew, and the pair attacked and robbed Goodman when he came back downstairs.

Goodman’s girlfriend, Shalyce Davis, with whom he lived, was upset, excited, shaking, and talking fast and loud in a high-pitched voice when police responding to her 911 call arrived at the apartment, Rademacher said, responding to questions posed by Ellyn Rajfer, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor.

Rademacher said he tried to calm down Davis so he could get her to tell him what happened.

“She indicated she was inside her apartment when she heard a tussle downstairs,’’ Rademacher said. “When she went down, she observed the victim and two male subjects trying to pull his shirt over his head. She intervened and tried to push one of the subjects back.’’

At that point, Goodman told Davis to go back upstairs, Rademacher said Davis told him.

During the scuffle, Davis said she thought she saw a taser, but was unsure which of the two assailants had it, the sergeant testified.

“She also heard a single gunshot and heard the victim say he was hit, and he went back upstairs and collapsed at the top of the stairs,’’ Rademacher said Davis told him.

Davis gave Rademacher a description of the two assailants, which he relayed to a dispatcher to alert other police units to be on the lookout for them, Rademacher said.

“She didn’t tell you that a robbery occurred,’’ Joshua Hood, Marcus Morrisey’s attorney, asked the witness.

“In those words, no,’’ Rademacher responded.

Hood asked the same question again, eliciting the same response from the police sergeant.

“It’s not described in my report,’’ Rademacher said.

“Ms. Davis also didn’t tell you anything that was taken?’’ Hood asked.

“She did not,’’ the witness replied.

“She did not describe any items taken from the residence?’’ Hood inquired.

“Correct,’’ Rademacher replied.

The defense attorney displayed a photograph from the crime scene depicting a watch on the staircase leading to the apartment.

“Shalyce Davis also didn’t tell you she had 70 grams of crack cocaine up in the apartment?’’ Hood asked.

“No,’’ Rademcher replied.

The sergeant said Davis would not grant consent for police to search the apartment.

Rajfer, however, told the jury in her opening statement that when police did search the premises, they found cocaine and a scale there. She also said the murder weapon was discovered in Asbury Park about a month and a half after the fatal shooting.

Ada Lamadrid, a former Asbury Park police officer, testified Wednesday that she was patrolling the city on Jan. 4, 2019, when she was flagged down by a man who reported seeing a firearm on the side of an overpass that connects Asbury Park to Ocean Township.

Lamadrid said she took the man to the location.

“He points to a little sidewalk, to a black firearm and sneakers,’’ Lamadrid told the jury.

Other officers arrived on the scene, she said.

“We just take a closer look,’’ Lamadrid said. “We agree that it’s a real handgun.’’

Lamadrid said she secured the 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun and the pair of size 8, black and gold, Air Jordan sneakers and transported the items back to police headquarters.

The trial is before Superior Court Judge Marc C. LeMieux.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune NJ murder trial: caller says boyfriend shot, barely breathing